Rory Gallagher - Tone is in the fingers

[Borderline Productions]

Went to a public viewing of Rory Gallagher's DVD at Montreaux. Wow, I wish I could play like that. What impressed me the most was he didn't use any pedals, just the beat up Strat into the amplifiers. He controlled everything with the pots and the pick-up switcher on his guitar. More importantly, he adjusted the tone of each note by how he attacked the string with his right hand and how he finessed the string with his left hand.

I need to pull out my vinyl copy of Against the Grain and crank it when I get home from work.

RIP Rory.

[OrangePaul]

I was lucky enough to catch him live in the early 80's at Sheffield City Hall...

Thinking about it, he is probably one of the main reasons I started out on a Strat.
That and the fact that the first Janapnese Squires were about £200 and a Les Paul about £2000

[sizzlingbadger]

A 1969 interview shortly after Woodstock.

Interviewer: So Jimi, what's it like to be the best guitarist in the world?
Jimi: I dunno, ask Rory Gallagher.

[bfitz]

and his tribute festival is on this weekend in his hometown of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal its gonna be FUNZIES!!

[kmlabs]

My friend told me a story his dad had told him, when he saw Rory Gallagher play he broke a string.

Then removed it, was handed a new one, fitted it, tuned it and continued playing.

...all while still singing, and not missing a word!

[Borderline Productions]

I can see him doing the string change on the fly. Half of the songs he was tuning strings while he played.

[Gtr_Pkr]

No pedals? I thought he used the Dallas Rangemaster treble booster. I also read something saying that he had some custom wound pickups too. Maybe he ditched the effects for the pickups? Anyway, very underrated guitarist. I'll have to break out my CD's (only have one vinyl LP of his) and listen to them again!

[Thinline_slim]

My friend told me a story his dad had told him, when he saw Rory Gallagher play he broke a string.

Then removed it, was handed a new one, fitted it, tuned it and continued playing.

...all while still singing, and not missing a word!

That's awesome!

I actually learned about Rory from these boards 4-5 years ago and now he's one of my top 5 favorite artists. Big fan. He had the ability to milk more tones out of such a simple set up than virtually any other guitarist I've heard short of guys like Albert Collins. Those guys could play the same note/string/volume 7 different ways and elicit 7 different emotions. He did change the way I approached the guitar.

[leopoldbloom]

I admire Rory as a guitarist and as an artist too. His passion on stage, his attitude, his choices.
I strongly believe his tone was coming straight from his personality. He lived for what he was doing - I bet everyone who had the chance to watch him perform live can testify that.

One broken string is the last thing that could stop that guy...

Big rock concerts had been banned in my country due to a dictatorship since 64'. Even when democracy was restored on 74', no one would dare organize a big rock concert against the superstition that "rock is evil". Rory was the first artist who dared to break that sad tradition with a big concert in Athens in 1981. 40000 people went to that concert.

The police surrounded the stadium and started throwing tear gas all over - they wanted to break the "dangerous" concert. The band and the people who were inside had been suffocating on tear gas since the beginning of the concert. But Rory wouldn't stop the concert! People wouldn't leave, they just stood there. And Rory kept on playing through his whole set!!!

Ever since that concert, due to Rory's and people's determination, they have never tried to prevent a rock concert.

[kmlabs]

I admire Rory as a guitarist and as an artist too. His passion on stage, his attitude, his choices.
I strongly believe his tone was coming straight from his personality. He lived for what he was doing - I bet everyone who had the chance to watch him perform live can testify that.

One broken string is the last thing that could stop that guy...

Big rock concerts had been banned in my country due to a dictatorship since 64'. Even when democracy was restored on 74', no one would dare organize a big rock concert against the superstition that "rock is evil". Rory was the first artist who dared to break that sad tradition with a big concert in Athens in 1981. 40000 people went to that concert.

The police surrounded the stadium and started throwing tear gas all over - they wanted to break the "dangerous" concert. The band and the people who were inside had been suffocating on tear gas since the beginning of the concert. But Rory wouldn't stop the concert! People wouldn't leave, they just stood there. And Rory kept on playing through his whole set!!!

Ever since that concert, due to Rory's and people's determination, they have never tried to prevent a rock concert.

Stories like this bend my mind a little... we don't even know we're born, man O_o